At The Beginning
by surrethereal
Summary: After the end, what happens to those who die? Sirius Black is about to find out.
1. Reunions

At The Beginning  
  
By: xxSilmarilBladexx  
  
Dedication: Many thanks to all the countless authors who have inspired me (especially those fan fiction authors who have written truly remarkable stories about Sirius Black and the afterlife, and, of course, the HP authoress JKR herself). Many thanks to my friends as well.  
  
Summary: After the end, what happens to those who die? Sirius Black is about to find out.  
  
*****  
  
As Sirius Black's knees unbuckled and he was falling through the tattered veil, he squeezed his eyes shut. Damn! Sirius swore to himself silently. I just had to let my guard down, didn't I? And I got hit by *her* of all people! He clenched his fists in anger and rage, as he envisioned the nasty hag of a woman who had just killed him. Bellatrix's lips curled into a horrible smile of triumph, and she threw her head back, laughing......  
  
The vision faded, but the laughter he had imagined didn't, and it echoed in his throbbing head as his head hit something hard (the ground?). He still heard his cousin's peals of mirth even as he was dimly conscious of the sound of a loud thunk! This it, Sirius mused to himself, I'm dead...  
  
As he steeled himself to face eternal darkness, however, he thought he could make out lights flickering, and he heard astonished gasps. The man's eyes fluttered open, and, brushing the long strands of ebony hair out of his face, he saw he had not hit the ground as he had guessed, in fact he had been thrown back into....a seat. A seat in what looked remarkably like a train compartment. What the hell?! Sirius wondered, as he bolted upright and his eyes went wide and round.   
  
In this train compartment were a few people, all of whom Sirius didn't know, and they were all open-mouthed and gaping at him and suddenly a thought struck him......they knew who he was! Sirius didn't know nor cared for the moment why the hell he had been falling through the veil and suddenly ended up transporting into a train compartment and falling back into a seat, all he knew for that moment was that he was an escaped convict and he had suddenly made himself --- albeit, accidentally --- known to the public. They would know him immediately by sight, and they would tip the Ministry off. Sirius had to run. As he sprang to his feet, a familiar voice came from behind ----   
  
"Sirius?!" Sirius's eyes widened even more. I know that voice.....but no, it couldn't be....he's dead Sirius was thinking as he whipped around, Bode is ----  
  
Broderick Bode was standing right in front of him, with body, hands, wand, and all. He was staring at Sirius with stunned disbelief.  
  
Sirius dropped his own wand, which he was strangely enough still holding. "Bode?!" Sirius exclaimed in shock, and poor Sirius could do nothing but stare at Bode, his own jaw going slack.....  
  
Bode knitted his eyebrows together, looking confused. "I thought you were alive!"   
  
"I thought YOU were dead!" Sirius countered, taken aback.  
  
An odd look flickered in Bode's eyes, but it disappeared quickly as it had come. His face once more was stoic and completely unreadable. "Why yes, I am." Bode said rather pleasantly, flashing Sirius a small grin. "This is the Spirit Express. Souls that have fled their bodies --- for example, me --- go to Fallen Souls Central, a.k.a. Mors Station. *If you were really evil at heart you go to Platform 666; if you were really good deep down inside you go to Platform 777.* There, you wait for the train to come and take you to one of the two separate other train stations. And from there on...." Bode paused. "Well, we'll see."  
  
Trying to take in all this information, Sirius sank back into his seat, and nodded, dazedly. "So I *am* dead."  
  
Bode chuckled. "Sorry to break it to you, mate, but yeah, you are."  
  
Sirius groaned. "That's okay.....I...erm.... guess I had it coming."  
  
Bode looked at him searchingly, an amused look breaking out on his face. "You died laughing at someone's face, didn't you?"  
  
Sirius nodded, sheepishly. "I know, I was a git," Sirius admitted, his cheeks flushing red in embarrassment.  
  
Bode shook his head. "No, you weren't. You were being defiant of your enemies 'til the end. Its really not that bad of a way to die, actually. Especially if you compare it to the way I did." Bode's smile faded, grimacing. "It was bad enough I had already been knocked out of commission, and just as I was going to recover, I----" Bode stopped abruptly in mid-sentence. His kindly face broke out into a hideous scowl. At length, he continued, gritting his teeth, "I get strangled by a plant."  
  
Sirius was laughing nervously when he heard Hem, hem. The first thought that flew into Sirius's mind when he heard that was UMBRIDGE! Did the dratted woman want to capture him so badly that she actually followed him into the afterlife? At the sound of the cough, Sirius jumped, and he whirled around, looking wildly. The stricken expression of anxiety on his handsome face quickly turned into one of relief. It was only a homely, petite old man with a walking stick. He had cleared his throat, having wanted Bode's attention. Bode turned to the man, and a look of comprehension dawned in Bode's eyes. He slapped himself up the forehead.  
  
"Oh yeah! Everybody, this is Sirius Black." Bode gestured towards Sirius, and all the bewildered people who had been looking at Sirius in open-mouthed shock (four in total) closed their mouths for the moment and offered Sirius awkward smiles, "Sirius, this is Edmund Bolger-----" Bode nodded to a short, chubby, tousled-haired brunette forty-something year old man, "He's a distant relative of mine, and a Squib. This is Laurana Baddock ----" Bode jerked his head towards a scrawny, frizzy-haired, bespectacled young brunette woman in her late 20s, "She's a half-blood, her father was a Muggleborn and her mother was a pureblood witch. And this ----- " Bode turned around so sharply and suddenly that the man he turned to (a tall, lean, titian-haired, baby-faced and handsome thirty-something young man sitting near a small, terrified-looking six-year old girl who appeared to be his daughter) bolted to his feet in trepidation and alarm, "this is Elijah Fawcett, Laurana's Muggle cousin on her father's side, and his little ten-year old daughter --- also a Muggle --- Primula." At last, Bode's gaze fell upon the old man who had coughed earlier, and with a slight smile, he made his final introduction, "And last but not least this is my father, Balin Bode."  
  
Sirius gave everybody a tentative wave hello. Balin Bode's eyes fell on Sirius, and he gave him a curt nod. Balin's eyes then swiftly flew back to his son's.  
  
Bode strode over to his father, and as he sat down he was saying, "Sirius, as I told you before, was a member of the Order ---- albeit, an escaped convict as well --- but nevertheless a good and useful man, who played quite the important role in -----"  
  
"Yes, yes," Sr. Bode interjected, and waved his hand delicately around, "And as glad as I am to be finally introduced to this fine young friend of yours, I'm afraid giving his name doesn't do anything to explain why he's here."  
  
Bode rolled his eyes. "Its obvious, isn't it? He's DEAD," Bode said impatiently.   
  
"No, no." Sr. Bode heaved a huge sigh. "Wrong use of phrasing. What I really meant was how he showed up here. I mean, we all came from Platform 777, and went aboard the train from there, but very suddenly he literally fell from the sky through the skyline up there," Sr. Bode jerked his thumb up to indicate what he was talking about, and Sirius cocked his head up and saw a fairly large window with tattered curtains facing upwards up on the roof, "and down into the train compartment and onto a seat. Its just very...strange."  
  
Its ALL strange, Sirius thought.  
  
Bode furrowed his eyebrows. "You know, that's a good question, Sirius. How exactly *did* you die?" Bode scrutinized Sirius, frowning.  
  
"Well....." Sirius screwed his face up in an effort to remember, "I was in the Department of Mysteries, dueling with Bellatrix --- yes, that cow of a cousin of mine ---- when she hit me with some kind of Stunning Spell, and then I fell through this ancient-looking doorway beyond this tattered veil."  
  
A low murmur ran among the small group of people, and Sr. Bode took to looking Sirius up and down, peering at him shrewdly. He only averted his gaze to exchange a questioning glance with his son, and Bode nodded his head. He turned to face Sirius again, and he told Sirius matter-of-factly, "You died by falling right through the doorway to the afterlife."  
  
Sirius looked at Bode with surprise. "I---I did?"  
  
Bode chuckled again. "Yea, so you basically came here by accident."  
  
Sirius's dark eyes lit up. "Does that mean I can go back?" Sirius asked eagerly.  
  
Bode bowed his head, his face once again solemn. "I'm sorry, Sirius." Bode said in apologetic tones to a crestfallen Sirius, whose ruffled hair wilted with disappointment, "But once you enter the afterlife, there's no fully turning back around. You're dead, and you know no magic, no matter how powerful, potent, or strong it is, can change that."  
  
"However----" Laurana Baddock spoke up, "If you really wish to, you can go back and reside in the place between life and death called The Void. There, you can live a half-life, and walk the paths your living self once tread on Earth as a ghost."  
  
Sirius's face brightened. "Well then I think I shall," Sirius said decisively with no trace of uncertainty in his voice; his face determined and resolute.  
  
This time it was Bode's turn again --- as well as everybody else's --- to look surprised. "Do you really want to?" Bode questioned, curious.  
  
"Of course! I have unfinished business. Remus, for one, and my godson for another. I was appointed his guardian and --- " Sirius's voice suddenly broke, and for the first time since his death bitterness and sorrow crept into his voice, "...And I left him just when he needed me the most. I have to make up for that."  
  
Miss Baddock smiled at Sirius gently. "Such business, as any business, probably can be finished in death, Sirius. You can look after Harry in heaven, and watch him there. Though you cannot intervene to save him when his life is in peril, and cannot pat him on the back when he is angry or sad, you can still give him strength of heart and support, and comfort him and cheer him up. If he misses you so very badly, and if the powers at work permit it, you can come to him in visions and visit him in dreams."  
  
"Then why are there ghosts at all?"   
  
Bode said gravely, "There are wizards and witches who believe the unfinished business they started in life can only be finished in some form of life. They do not trust in what can happen in such a mysterious place as the Great Beyond. They rather not find out death's deepest secrets. And then there are those wizards and witches who have no unfinished business on earth, and quite simply fear death. They all believe death is the ultimate end, be it the end of their chances to finish their businesses or the end of their overall existence. They believe there is nothing after life but an end, and that is all there is to it. They do not believe in another beginning." Bode's eyes locked onto Sirius's steadily, and he was aware that all had fallen very quiet; the train itself seemed to have stopped in its tracks, and the people around him were watching him intensely, even the Fawcetts. All eyes were on Sirius, roving about him keenly, as Bode opened his mouth to ask a question next ----   
  
"Do you believe in another beginning?"   
  
Sirius took a sharp intake of breath, and he exhaled deeply. There was a deafening silence.....  
  
Slowly, but finally, Sirius said, "I believe."  
  
Bode's face broke out into a wide smile, and he clapped Sirius on the back.  
  
"Good choice, my friend."  
  
Even as Bode said these words, it seemed to Sirius that the train was moving again, and everybody in the compartment had already erupted into thunderous claps of applause. Bolger and Fawcett were even whistling in support of Sirius's decision. Amidst all the noise, Primula threw a fist into the air and shouted, "YOU GO, BOY!"  
  
Sirius was fairly glowing when Bode took Sirius aside and, smiling at Sirius, said in a low, serious voice, "So even though you don't know where you're heading --- hell, as much as I know, I don't know *for sure* what I've gotten myself into --- you're willing to find out, right?"  
  
"I guess," Sirius said, shifting his feet on the floor uncomfortably, looking uneasy. "I mean, I'm already heading there, anyway."  
  
Bode shot Sirius a fleeting glance, but he said nothing. As Bode was turning his back to Sirius, Sirius ventured, cautiously, "Er --- Bode?"  
  
"Yea, Sirius?"  
  
"Just HOW do you know so much?"  
  
For the first time, Bode looked offguard and embarrassed. His face turned pink.  
  
"Er ---- Pamphlet. Life and Death 101. Borrowed it from Departing Earth Information Center."  
  
*****  
  
Sirius spent the remainder of his time in the train chatting away and having fun. Sirius and Miss Baddock had a heart-to-heart conversation with one another, discussing the evils of prejudice and bigotry. Sirius and Sr. Bode had a heated debate about Cornelius Fudge's fashion sense; Sr. Bode defended Fudge, saying he looked quite the regal, sophisticated and suave man in his usual outfit but Sirius scoffed, saying "the smarmy berk" looked about as dignified and spiffy as a multi-colored clothed mobman in his pin-striped suit and bowler hat.   
  
Primula, who, after all, was the only child on the train, could not take part in any of the adult conversations, nor did she have the faintest idea what they were talking about in the first place, or even want to join in the discussion (she was particularly scared off by the talk about Cornelius Fudge), got restless and bored to the point she began singing a little ditty the young girl made up herself, entitled "Are We There Yet?". Pitying Primula, Sirius beckoned the ten-year old to come over, and when she did, he kindly asked her if there was anything he could do for her. To Sirius's pleasant surprise, Primula --- who was both scared and fascinated with magic --- begged Sirius to tell her stories about his experiences in the wizarding world. Sirius relented (he could not resist to anyone who gave him a puppy-dog look) and told her much of the adventures of the Marauders; interesting, exciting tales. Every now and then Primula interrupted to ask questions, often bizarre and bewildering ones. **Primula had just been asking Sirius if hobbits were real, and Sirius had just been gently answering her no when the train started to slow down.**  
  
"There's no hobbits?!" Primula exclaimed shrilly. "None at all?!"  
  
"Nope, no hairy-footed, curly-haired, pointy-eared chubby midgets, not even in our world. Well...there's Kreacher, but he's a nasty little house-elf-----"  
  
"Hey, Primula, come and look outside!" Mr. Fawcett called to his daughter.  
  
Primula hurriedly scrambled off to her father, and as she came to his side, she peered out the window and let out a loud squeal. Curious, Sirius followed Primula to the window and saw what Primula was squealing at. They were entering the station at last, and there on the platform there were throngs upon throngs of people. Upon seeing the train, they all whipped their heads towards one another, talking excitedly and pointing.  
  
"They're ----- they're all waiting for us," Sirius said, scratching the stubble on his chin in wonder.  
  
.....and so the people were. The moment the train came to a complete halt, and the train compartment doors opened, and people were getting off, the whole station, which had already buzzed with excitement and murmured talk, burst into screams of joy and yelps of shock. People all around Sirius were immediately pulled out of the crowd and into a surprise embrace, or a kiss on the lips. There was a lot of elbowing, pushing, and shoving, and by the time Sirius had managed to squeeze himself out of the throngs of people, he had gotten knocked down by a zealous, overjoyed relative of someone flat on the ground, and just as he got up, a stockily-built woman had mistaken him for someone else and pulled him into a bear-hug which nearly squeezed the breath out of him. Then, after the woman realized her mistake, apologized, and released him, he had been staggering when he was literally spun about, as people here and there, on his right side and his left side, pushed past him. He had been growing irked and quite miffed with it all when he heard a shriek of joy, and he felt a pair of arms enveloping him into yet another hug by -----  
  
"Lily?!" Sirius exclaimed, hardly daring to believe it.  
  
Lily Evans Potter unwrapped herself from Sirius. She pushed back her thick, wavy coppery red hair, took a step back, and looked at Sirius, her malachite green eyes shining, and her face flushed and beaming. Evidently Lily had been just crying, as she was wiping her eyes with her hand. "Its good to see you again, Sirius," Lily said warmly.  
  
Sirius staggered, and he stared at Lily. "L-Lily?" Suddenly Sirius's eyes fell on the smiling person beside Lily, and his eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets. "And James?!"  
  
James Potter stood next to his wife, the same as ever, except he looked unusually sentimental. His untidy black hair was even messier and his hazel eyes, usually dark and mysterious (often with hidden mischief), were now shining oddly and misty, and he seemed to be on the verge of tears. "Hey, Padfoot, s'up?" James greeted Sirius, he said, his voice cracking and falling with every word he said into a barely audible whisper.   
  
Sirius, whose own eyes had already been welling up, felt the first tears fall down his cheeks, and he latched his hand onto James' arm, and pulled his best friend to him, hugging him tightly. Lily looked on this tearful reunion between two men, smiling softly at the two. Sirius's heart exploded with so many different emotions inside, and yet he could not find the words to express such joy at seeing his two friends again. Such happiness was beyond words to tell.  
  
As the two men broke apart, Sirius managed to gaze upon the Potters through his tears and pull one of his trademark grins. "Well I never thought I'd see you two again."  
  
"Its been a while," Lily agreed.  
  
"Welcome to the Great Beyond." James said.  
  
"Welcome to death, you mean," Sirius answered his old friend, smiling at him wryly.  
  
"Its not a bad place, you know." James defended.  
  
"No I don't know, and I'm not going to unless you show me around a bit more. A tour would be good."   
  
"Well then, come along," James said briskly, his hand already intertwined with Lily's.  
  
Lily smiled at Sirius. "Well?" Lily asked, offering her free hand to Sirius.  
  
Sirius hesitated for a moment, looked into Lily's eyes, and yielded to her. "Let's go!" Sirius agreed, and he took Lily's hand.  
  
Death really was the next greatest adventure, as Dumbledore had always said.  
  
*****  
  
A/N:   
  
*The ill-intending wizards in life who choose not to be ghosts go into the Great Beyond, because they believe in death there will come an evil rebirth of sorts, but this does not happen --- instead, they are offered by the Higher Powers the chance to redeem themselves and to end their maliciousness, begin to pay up their debts in reparations for their evil deeds; start to lead a good afterlife, and set forth not a new life, but rather a new beginning. If they refuse this, or end up taking this chance and wasting it, they will go forth to the Prison in the Underworld and will be subject to punishment and torment (along with the ill-intending Muggles) until they find true regret and remorse in their hearts and repent. Then and only then they shall be released.*  
  
**Hobbits, also known as Halflings, are a race of little people that the one and only John Ronald Reuel Tolkien created, who live in Tolkien's Middle-earth. Mr. Fawcett more than likely read The Hobbit to his daughter Primula as a bedtime tale, and it apparently became her favorite story. The origins of her own name, Primula, trace back to a hobbit character in Tolkien's writings.** 


	2. Cut Scenes

~*Cut Scenes*~  
  
A/N: These are scenes I wrote up before I revised At The Beginning and decided to delete them. I chose not to add these because they seemed out of place, bizarre, or complicating when I first wrote up my story.  
  
Warnings: Use of British curse words.  
  
Dedication: Thanks to my first ever reviewers, sora-doragon and Lily Skylo! And in regards to your questions, Lily Skylo, they were very good, and I asked them myself as I was writing up At The Beginning. Yes, they can still use magic in the afterlife; and, that being the case, yes James and Sirius can still transform into Padfoot and Prongs. In fact, they use magic in my cut scenes, as you will see if you read the following.  
  
*****  
  
Scene I: Sirius Is Falling Through The Veil, And Onto The Seat.....  
  
And in which His Wand Hits Him On The Head  
  
As Sirius Black's knees unbuckled and he was falling through the tattered veil, he squeezed his eyes shut. Damn! Sirius swore to himself silently. I just had to let my guard down, didn't I? And I got hit by *her* of all people! He clenched his fists in anger and rage, as he envisioned the nasty hag of a woman who had just killed him. Bellatrix's lips curled into a horrible smile of triumph, and she threw her head back, laughing......  
  
The vision faded, but the laughter he had imagined didn't, and it echoed in his throbbing head as his head hit something hard (the ground?). He still heard his cousin's peals of mirth even as he was dimly conscious of the sound of a loud thunk! This it, Sirius mused to himself, I'm dead...  
  
As he steeled himself to face eternal darkness, however, he thought he could make out lights flickering, and he heard astonished gasps. The man's eyes fluttered open, and, brushing the long strands of ebony hair out of his face, he saw he had not hit the ground as he had guessed, in fact he had been thrown back into....a seat. A seat in what looked remarkably like a train compartment. What the hell?! Sirius wondered, as he bolted upright and his eyes went wide and round. As he sat up, his wand came flying from nowhere and hit him on the head, and Sirius yelped.  
  
"Ah, feck!!!!!" Sirius cursed, and that outburst of his earned him not only astonished gasps, but indignant and even more stunned looks. A young girl of at least ten years gaped at him, her jaw dropped in shock, and her father hastily clamped his two hands over her two ears, and threw Sirius a very dirty look.  
  
Scene 2: Sirius Is Having Fun With His Fellow Train Compartment Members.....  
  
And in which Chaos Ensues  
  
Sirius spent the remainder of his time in the train chatting away and having fun. Sirius, Fawcett, and Bolger got involved in a long and dirty game of Poker, a Muggle game of cards (Ted Tonks, Andromeda's husband, had taught it to him long ago). Sirius, being the magical one and all, had the advantage to cheat, and so he did; before the game started he excused himself for a moment, and, scuttling off to the side, he conjured a charm on himself in which he gained super vision in which he could see through pretty much anything. In simpler words, Sirius now had magical eyes, and apparently he had no shame, because as Sirius returned strolling back, his face was lit up with wicked, secretive smile. Oblivious, the three commenced playing, and, inevitably, Sirius won, and Fawcett and Bolger, grumbling, took out of their trouser pants and handed over their most prized possessions: Bolger, a rusty teaspoon he had used to stir and drink tea since he was six; Fawcett, a shaving razor. Sirius was slightly disappointed at the prizes, but took them anyway.  
  
During the ride, Sirius had quite the entertaining time with Primula, Fawcett's daughter. Primula taught him all these various kinds of Muggle hand-games (which Sirius found quite interesting). In all, Primula taught him three games: 1) Miss Mary Mack, 2) Tweet, Tweet, Baby, and 3) Rockin' Robin, Tweet, Tweet, Tweet. Sirius had been slightly baffled at all the complex, bizarre hand movements, but enjoyed learning them quite immensely. As they continued to play these Muggle hand games, Bode, who had been nodding off to sleep, accidentally dropped his wand with a loud and pronounced thud, and his wand tip ignited, and out from the tip sprang a teddy bear. This was no ordinary teddy bear, however; it was a vicious, nasty teddy bear who was snapping at everybody with his toothless, cotton-ball filled jaws. Fawcett and Primula were all quite stunned, and Bode, now wide-eyed and awake, hurriedly made the angry bear vanish. Fawcett and Primula looked relieved, but Primula, after recovering from the initial shock, commented that the bear was quite cute.  
  
Scene III: In Which Sirius Meets Up With Lily and James Again....  
  
And In The Process Annoys Lily  
  
"Its been a while," Lily agreed.  
  
"Welcome to the Great Beyond." James said.  
  
"Welcome to death, you mean," Sirius answered his old friend, smiling at him wryly.  
  
"Its not a bad place, you know." James defended.  
  
"No I don't know, and I'm not going to unless you show me around a bit more. A tour would be good." Sirius looked around, and knitting his eyebrows together, Sirius asked Lily and James, "Where's the exit?"  
  
Lily pointed to the far east side of the three towards a door; above the door read, in big, glowing yellow letters on a big red sign, Exit.  
  
Sirius's cheeks blossomed a brilliant pink. "Oh yeah...." Sirius said sheepishly. Lily's lips curved into a smile; she was smirking. Blushing even harder, Sirius looked away from Lily and turned to James, who had a fervent glow in his hazel eyes. His eyes glinted.  
  
Sirius smiled; he knew that look. The two exchanged mischievous glances.  
  
"What about it, old friend? Race?" James asked, grinning.  
  
Sirius hesitated for a moment, but then, looking into James' eyes, his face broke out into an even larger smile. "You're on, mate," Sirius replied. The two men's eyes fell on the exit with eager anticipation, and their shoulders tensed, as if they were ready to spring.  
  
Lily, who had been narrowing her eyes at them suspiciously, now understood and, her smirk vanishing and a deep scowl replacing it, she said warningly, "Don't you two even DARE----"  
  
Sirius and James paid no heed to Lily, however; and the two began to break out into a run. There was a sudden blinding flash of light. People near them turned their heads and several of them blinked several times, but by the time they could properly see again Sirius and James were no more and they gasped. There was a wave of commotion; and some who had witnessed what had happened --- probably Muggles --- had even fainted. Running in Sirius's and James's places were their respective Animagus forms, a shaggy black mongrel and a sleek white stag, and off the two went, lolloping about and scaring half the crowd out of their wits as they ran towards and through the exit door.  
  
Lily sighed, and rolled her eyes. "Men." Shaking her head, she ran as fast as she could to catch up to the two.  
  
Death really was the next greatest adventure, as Dumbledore had always said. 


	3. Home At Last Part I

Chapter 2: Home At Last  
  
Part I  
  
Not for the first time, Lily Evans Potter was searching for Sirius Black in vain, squeezing herself through the large, packed crowd. The world of the afterlife was new and strange to him, so everything around him had distracted Sirius, and he had managed to escape Lily's and her husband James' side and had quickly wandered off to places of interest. He never stayed put in one spot for long, either, and by the time Lily and James came, huffing and puffing to the place where he had previously been, Sirius had gone off yet again another place somewhere.  
  
Not only did looking for Sirius equate to trying to find a needle in a haystack, but also to finding a curious newborn puppy who was sniffing and moving around. In short, it was impossible, but then, Lily thought angrily to herself as she looked for Sirius, the thing about hanging around with Sirius all your life and now for your entire afterlife, you began to think everything was impossible.  
  
Lily was giving up hope when she caught sight of the back of a long, black-haired man immersed in a small leaflet among a group of people. This group was following some sort of tour guide. Lily grinned, quite wickedly at that, and stealthily like a cat she crept nearer towards the unsuspecting man. She tensed, ready to spring. Then ---  
  
"GOTCHA'! You trouble-making little wanker, why I ought to --- oh damn!!!!"  
  
People's heads turned; there was a wave of commotion, and amongst the commotion Lily let out a war cry, and her victim let out a small squeak, and she seized the man from behind by the arm. As she roughly whirled him around, however, the smile of triumph died on Lily's lips and her lips parted in stunned surprise. Instead of looking down upon a sheepish-looking Sirius Black she instead found herself looking into the wide, round eyes of a complete stranger, an absolutely terrified look on the poor guy's face.  
  
Lily's cheeks blossomed, and she wrung the man's hands repeatedly and apologized, "I'm so sorry! I --- I thought you were someone else."  
  
People all around her stared at Lily and spoke indistinctly in low tones. The man himself barely gave a dazed nod of his head, before turning his back on Lily and following the group, whom after staring at Lily for a while, shook their heads, and continued walking once more. Even as he walked away, Lily could hear him, as well as many others around him, murmuring their apprehensive and fearful wonders if there would be anymore of these lunatics in the afterlife. Great, Lily thought, letting out a small groan, I've already ruined their first time here.  
  
Even as she thought this, however, an amused voice came floating from somewhere behind.  
  
"Looking for someone?"  
  
Lily whipped around, and she saw whom she had originally meant to jump and give a good scare. Marching over to Sirius Black, placing her hands on her hips, she gave him a good long glare. "Why in the bloody hell did you have to go off like that Sirius? For cripe's sake, Sirius, do you know how hard it is to find you around here? Or finding you at all?"  
  
Sirius grinned broadly. "My apologies, Lily. I've just been doing a bit of wandering. This is going to be my home for the rest of my afterlife, after all. I've got to get a look around."  
  
"So you like the place?" James had just strolled over to Sirius's side. He didn't look disheveled or flustered like Lily at all save for his usually untidy hair. Evidently, he had let his wife do all the hard work of re-locating his best friend.  
  
Sirius's eyes sparkled. "Like it? I love it!"  
  
"Good as Hogsmeade, this place, isn't it?" James said, grinning.  
  
"Sod Hogsmeade, this place is wicked!" Sirius replied, his face flushed with excitement.  
  
. ..and so it was. The plane of the Great Beyond stretched for countless miles. It was large and widespread. The streets were literally paved with gold, and the streets were bustling with great activity. Numerous, grand and magnificent structures dotted the sides of these streets. Some of the buildings, Sirius had noted with awe and wonder, were even built out of sweets and candy. It was like Earth, except where things on Earth had their limits and were simply pretty, everything here in the world of the afterlife was everlasting and drop-dead beautiful. Also, where distress and poverty were still present in certain places on Earth, there was no sign of any of it here. Everything around Sirius was rich and lively. The atmosphere around Sirius was nothing more than cheerful and merry.  
  
"Well as good as this place is, you can't live here until you come with me to the Registry Office," Lily snapped crossly, cuffing both Sirius and James by the shoulder and dragging the two men back towards a short, strict-looking brick building standing only a few feet away from the train station where they had just left. Sirius's heart filled with foreboding, and as he came closer he eyed the steel doors in trepidation and anxiety. James seemed to read Sirius's mind, and he clapped Sirius on the back in reassurance.  
  
As they entered the building, Sirius saw a sign above the doors reading Registry Building. In the lobby, on the wall to Sirius's left side Sirius saw an index of sorts, informing visitors the whereabouts of various offices. Lily went right past the wall without a backward glance, however. Apparently she already knew this place quite well. Lily beckoned James and Sirius come over, and the two hurried up to her side. The three stood in front of a lift. Lily pressed a button to go up, and down the lift came, the gates opened, and the three stepped into. Lily pushed another button to go up to the second floor. The gates closed, and they were moving up a level. The lift came to a stop, the gates opened once more, and the three stepped out again. Sirius heard the clang of the gates as they snapped shut again behind him as he followed James and Lily down a dark corridor. Finally, after twisting to the right and then to the left, Lily stopped in front of Room 297. The door was slightly ajar, and very easily Lily, James, and Sirius pushed inside.  
  
The room was wide and spacious. In this room there were several chairs propped up against the wall. They were all taken up, and several people were sitting and waiting. A bit off to the front and to the side of these chairs was a pretty, curvy sort of woman sitting in front of a short desk. She wore a crisp and cleanly outfit, and on her shirt she pinned on a nametag that read SKYLO, SORA. A couple stood in front of Sora Skylo's desk, and they were engaging Ms. Skylo in a small talk. The conversations were very brief, and pretty soon everybody else in the room were finishing up their discussions with Ms. Skylo and were leaving. It had been only seven minutes when Sirius's turn had come.  
  
Lily briskly went up to the woman and informed Ms. Skylo, "We're here to sign Sirius Black in."  
  
Ms. Skylo was examining Sirius more finely than even he was used to, and she smiled at him rather flirtatiously.  
  
"Welcome to the afterlife, Mr. Black." She said throatily in what she clearly thought was a sexy voice.  
  
"Erm...thanks." Sirius said uneasily, heat rising up his cheeks. He shuffled his feet on the ground rather uncomfortably.  
  
Lily eyed Ms. Skylo, her mouth quirking. She said very suddenly, "He has a wife and fourteen kids back on Earth, Sora."  
  
Ms. Skylo's eyebrows knitted together, and her smile faltered. "Y--You do?"  
  
Sirius looked at Lily blankly. "I---I do?" James elbowed Sirius in the ribs, and Sirius affirmed hastily, "Why yes, I do."  
  
Sora's smile died and turned sour. She swore, muttering, "Another possible lover bites the dust."  
  
As she did this, Sirius turned to Lily and James, looking positively flummoxed. James smirked, and Lily, smiling slightly, bent over and whispered in Sirius's ear, "She died young, before she ever got a husband. She took this job because it was the perfect way to finish her unfinished business. Its the perfect opportunity for meeting new people and getting acquainted with them. You should've seen her hit on James."  
  
Sora was still sulking when she went over to a small file cabinet and went rummaging through all the folders. She took one out, and Sirius caught a glimpse of his own name scrawled. She carefully pried open Sirius's file. Sora carefully extracted a single piece of paper out and handed Sirius the sheet. "Here," Sora said in a monotone. "This is a fact sheet. Check if all the information in it is correct. If it is, put down your signature at the bottom of the paper. Then put everything back into the file and give me the folder back."  
  
As Sora retreated to her seat, and, taking out a pair of spectacles from her shirt pocket, took out several other sheets of paper, and started reading, Sirius took to examining the paper he had in his own hands. Sirius's eyes scanned the paper. As he read from the top, Sirius saw that, to his slight astonishment and immense discomfort, the paper indeed listed various facts about him, all of which were, of course, true; facts like him being a wizard, his birthdate, his deathdate, the cause of his death, his ethnicity, his nationality, his sex, his hair color, his eye color, his height, his weight, and --- Sirius gulped --- his marital status. He wasn't, of course, really married but had said so otherwise. Sirius must've had a look of horror on his face because after taking a glance at him, she asked in mild interest, "Something wrong?"  
  
"No, no," Sirius vaguely muttered, but then he spotted something that caught his attention. "Well yes," Sirius said suddenly, thrusting the paper towards Sora. "It says here that I don't have unfinished business and I --- " Sirius began, but James cut Sirius off.  
  
"...and he does, but its the same unfinished business we all have. You know, leaving our loved ones and watching over them."  
  
"I see...so he really won't be needing to take on any job, then...." Sora held the sheet of paper into the air, squinting her eyes and peering at the paper closely. "Yet if what I'm reading is right, you still didn't live your life to the fullest, and your life was never really that happy."  
  
Sirius's throat constricted. "No, it wasn't."  
  
"Then I'm afraid you really will have to see the Healer to heal your life's burden and weariness. We're currently making arrangements to squeeze you into the Healer's schedule. I'll give you a call at your place when we've got you an appointment."  
  
"Thanks," Sirius said sincerely, but even as he took the fact sheet back from Sora and put down his signature, a sudden thought struck him. "My place? I have a place?"  
  
The corners of Sora's mouth actually turned up, and she chuckled. "Why yes, you do. The Higher Powers have been preparing for your arrival. They've known all along who you are, and when you were coming. They've been renovating Lily and James' house for you. You'll be wanting to live with them, I assume?"  
  
"Of course!" Sirius said with such fierce honesty that Lily and James couldn't help but crack two smiles.  
  
Sirius frowned deeply. "Wait....don't I have to pay for all this?"  
  
Sora laughed. "You don't need money around here in the Great Beyond; you don't need to buy anything. As I've said, preparations have been made for your arrival. You have already been given everything you need, in addition to everything you deserve. Your life was a place where you worked, and your afterlife is a place where YOU'RE paid." Here-----" Sora fumbled for what appeared to be a stack of paper in the pockets of her dress robes and withdrew her hand to reveal a few leaflets, and Sirius saw many titles on them like A Git's Guide To The Great Beyond, and All You Need To Know About Being Dead. "Take some; I was going to give it to you, anyway. I daresay they're pretty helpful and will answer any question you may have concerning the afterlife."  
  
"Thanks," Sirius said happily as he exchanged the fact sheet for the pamphlets. As he, Lily, and James turned heel and was exiting through the door, he was more than ready and eager to get on with his afterlife when he heard Sora shriek,  
  
"You ruddy LIAR, you said you were married!"  
  
Sirius made a mad dash for the lift. 


	4. Home At Last Part II

A/N: Cinnibar, Sol, and Artemis are all named after three of my reviewers.  
  
Chapter 2: Home At Last  
  
Part II  
  
"So where are we going now?" Sirius asked Lily and James eagerly, as the three exited out of the Registry building, devouring everything in sight with hungry eyes. Lily and James exchanged glances. Sirius had never been this energetic and spirited, not even in life, and it was nice to see Sirius so happy for a change. His lips curving into a smile, James answered, "We're going home."  
  
Sirius threw a fist into the air, his actions echoing those of a certain little girl he had met on a train. "Yyyesss!!!" Sirius whopped.  
  
The three turned into a dark and dingy alley. There, scattered all over the ground at their feet, were a bunch of people's possessions lying seemingly abandoned. They were all quite attractive and valuable, however, and Sirius wondered what kind of idiots would just throw away their gold bracelets and diamond rings. Lily went right over and picked up a silver necklace with a small, emerald wrought Celtic cross.   
  
"What are you do---?" Sirius began, but Lily interrupted, "Its a Portkey."  
  
Sirius looked at the Portkey quizzically. "Wouldn't Muggles pick this stuff up?** Wouldn't anyone pick these up, for that matter?"  
  
"Nah, people are nice around here, they wouldn't steal," James waved his hand dismissively. "And besides, even if they tried, they couldn't. Even if we don't really need security around here, the Great Beyond is very secure. The most well guarded, in fact. The Higher Powers themselves run this place."   
  
"...and where in this place does this Portkey transport us?" Sirius pondered.  
  
"Well, all these Portkeys around here take us to one neighborhood or another. This particular Portkey brings us to West Paradise Street 1485. That's where we reside."  
  
"Is our neighborhood far from here?"  
  
"Pretty much. Lily and I, and practically the rest of the residents of the Great Beyond live on the outskirts of the cities in suburbs. Fortunately, though, we live just outside this city. Cities are the homes to the very few information centers and office buildings there are at all are located. There are very little flats here, and the only ones who really live in those apartment buildings are souls like Sora who have unfinished business to attend to here, and they don't stay forever. They have another place waiting for them; they eventually move out. The only ones who permanently settle into the apartment buildings are the Angels."  
  
"The Angels-----?"  
  
"They're manifestations of the Higher Powers. They always have business to look after. The conductor of the train that brought you here is an Angel; so's the Healer."  
  
"...and the city --- there's more to the city than information centers, office buildings, some flats, and a few eating houses, right---?"  
  
" 'Course. Even workers take their break."  
  
"And anyway," James added, "There's not much to do at home but relax, is there? People from outside the city are always coming here to have a fun time.  
  
There are inns for visitors, shopping malls, department stores, parks, game arcades, theaters, movie cinemas, and music halls-----"  
  
"And a whole lot more." Lily injected impatiently. "People, shut your traps and let's GO already."  
  
"Twitchy as ever, ain't she?" James said in a low voice to Sirius.  
  
"Very." Sirius quietly mouthed to James. James grinned, before turning back to his wife and flashing her a sweet smile. "Yes, Lily dear."  
  
"Okay, then...One...Two....Three-----"  
  
Sirius, James, and Lily all clasped onto the chain of the necklace and the three were swiftly spinning and the city around them was becoming a blur. Very rapidly their former surroundings vanished suddenly, and so did the three of them. Sirius, James, and Lily very abruptly re-appeared in mid-air, and there was a resounding scream as Sirius yelped, "MY ARSE!" as they all hit the ground hard in a heap.  
  
"Yeah, sorry about that," Lily winced, looking pained herself as she unsteadily came to her feet and brushed herself up. "We have our own fireplace in our home, so we could've taken Floo Powder, of course, but doing that we would've went straight inside the house, and we wanted to show you around outside first."  
  
"Then its a good thing we took the Portkey, after all," Sirius said cheerfully, looking around, and forgetting his earlier annoyance and beaming. "I would love for you to show me around. The place already looks awesome."  
  
Sirius had landed in the middle of a serene, taciturn street surrounded by many exquisite and breathtakingly gorgeous homes. The houses were made of various materials ranging from the finest stone to the sturdiest brick, and some even sported stain-glass windows. Everything looked cozy, in a quiet sort of contentment. The peace and quiet contrasted greatly with the hustle and bustle of the city, but no less beautiful and wondrous.  
  
"...See that pink manor with the lavender stain-glass wind---oh stop snickering, Sirius---see that pink house with the lavender window, that's where Marigold, Pegasus Perks live. And there, to the right and next door to the Perks is that inseparable set of best friends, Aragorn Bones and Petruchio Midgen. To the left and next door to the Perks are the Jordan brothers, Farrell and Tyrone. Next door to the Jordans are the Chang triplets, Mulan, Mei-Ling, and Jun. Next door to the Chang sisters are Christiana Brocklehurst and Emma Turpin. Two houses down is Selene McKinnon."  
  
"What about the house between Christiana, Emma, and Selene?"   
  
Lily's face broke out into a smile. "I was just getting to that," Lily said lightly. "That's our home."  
  
Sirius started. "Let's get inside, then!" Sirius urged in breathless anticipation.  
  
"C'mon," James snatched his best friend and led him towards the house.  
  
The house was Sirius's dream come true. It was a very large mansion, built out of the most elegant, refined steely blue marble. The mansion sported splendid glass windows. The doors were made of steel, and very fine steel at that. The mansion came with a chimney, a porch, pillars (where several yellow ribbons were tied around into a bow), a fair and green front lawn, and a few glittering manganese stone doorsteps.  
  
As Sirius walked up the doorsteps and came to the pillars, Sirius stopped in his tracks to look upon and admire the sun-streaked ribbons. James watched Sirius, followed his gaze, and smiled. "They're lovely, aren't they?" James commented. "They're not just for show, though. These yellow ribbons symbolize beckoning our loved ones to go to the Great Beyond when they die and join us here at home. We put them up for you, Harry and Remus."  
  
Sirius's heart was smote with emotion, but all he did was crack a small, even shy smile. James strode over, and briefly gave Sirius a clap on the back. Then James took out a golden key, slipped it into the gold keyhole, and turned the bronze knob. The door opened, and James, smiling encouragingly, bade Sirius to go inside the house. Inhaling sharply, and bracing himself for more wonders to come, Sirius nodded to James and took a step inside.  
  
He sucked in his breath. The inside of the house was, if possible, more beautiful than the outside. The walls were cobalt blue, and the floors were a deep purple and carpeted. At the right-hand corner there was a staircase spiraling upwards, and off at the right-hand side wall, there was a merry fire crackling at the fireplace in the drawing room. On the mantelpiece, six pictures were stacked up in pretty picture frames, pictures --- Sirius's heart tightened --- of James and himself laughing and posing for the camera, of James, Remus, and him smiling, of Remus and him draping their arms around one another's shoulders, of Lily and James kissing, of Lily and James holding hands, of James standing by Lily's side as she held Harry in her arms...  
  
Set in the living room were a polished wooden bookshelf, a rocking wicker chair, a black leather armchair, a fairly large teal couch and peacock blue sofa. There was a rug on the floor, and on this rug was Lily's old cat, Cinnibar, curled up in a deep and satisfying nap. He could hear a distant hooting getting closer and closer, until suddenly two owls came sweeping in, one pretty and tawny, the other a regal-looking eagle owl. Sirius's eyes widened, and he finally spoke up again, crying, "Sol!" Sol was the pretty, tawny one, and also his old owl, who had died about thirty years ago.  
  
The regal-looking eagle owl (belonging to James, named Artemis) greeted Sirius with a welcoming hoot, while Sol perched on Sirius's shoulder. She nipped at Sirius affectionately with his beak. Sirius let out a strangled, choked laugh. He was stroking Sol's feathers, and headed for an emotional breakdown when he heard James call ---  
  
"Hey, Sirius!" James called from somewhere behind the living room wall. "Come here into the kitchen!"  
  
Sirius bolted off towards the kitchen. The kitchen was neat, orderly, and spanking clean. The kitchen floor was made up of rich maroon tiles. Set in the kitchen was a large gas stove, a steely blue marble sink, complete with a silver faucet, a counter, and several cupboards, cabinets, and drawers. The cupboards, cabinets, and drawers held silverware. The dining room was right next to the kitchen, and set in this dining room was a large, four-legged wooden coffee table with a few chairs. The chairs came with cushions on the bottom of the seats.  
  
Regaining his composure, Sirius remarked, "Smashing house you've got here."  
  
"There's more." Lily, standing next to James, spoke up brightly, and seizing Sirius by the hand, she led him back into the living room and up the stairs, James in toe. The three reached the landing. They went down a large, wide hallway, with many doors at the sides leading to different rooms.   
  
Lily cocked her head towards the doors (three in total) on the right side. "Those are the bathrooms. They all have tiled floors, toilets, silver faucets, and marble sinks. The three bathrooms are practically identical, except for one factor."   
  
James jerked open the doors of each of the three bathroom, and as he went from one to the other, James explained, "This one has a quaint little Jacuzzi, this one has a regular bathtub, and this one has a stall for a shower."   
  
"And those?" Sirius asked, jerking his head to three relatively large doors at the left side.   
  
"Bedrooms." Lily replied. Lily gestured to the door at the end of the hallway. "This one's a guest room. The one next to that one is our bedroom (mine and James's). And the one next to it, the one nearest the staircase, that's yours."  
  
James spoke up. "The bedrooms are pretty much all the same except for the beds. Lily and I share a king-sized canopy bed, you've got a queen-sized bed, and the guest room contains two sets of twin-sized waterbeds. But don't take my word for it, come see for yourself." James beckoned Sirius to enter the bedroom.  
  
Sirius nodded, and went inside his bedroom. A cry of happiness escaped Sirius's throat, as his eyes first fell upon his bedroom. At one side of the room was, as James said, a queen-sized bed, with ebony black bed covers, a steely blue set of blankets, white pillows, and a comfy mattress covered in an ocean of dark teal. Several inches away from the bed, and near the door, was a maroon-colored marble wardrobe. To the other side of the room, and to the far off side of the bed, were two sets of chairs. A small table was propped in front of the chairs. The chairs faced a large, polished wooden desk several inches away and to the side of the dresser. On the wooden desk sat, curiously enough, a television, complete with a VCR. A remote control was lying on top of the TV.  
  
Exploring his new bedroom, Sirius came at last to the television set and looked at it, marveling.  
  
"Isn't this a box? What's it doing here?" Sirius asked, curious.  
  
James smiled slightly. " 'Course its a box. But its no ordinary Muggle television set. This here," James patted the TV fondly, "doesn't run by electricity, it runs by the pure might of the Higher Powers." James paused. "It isn't really for entertainment purposes, either. It plays only five channels, and running on each channel there's only one TV show."  
  
Sirius's eyebrows furrowed. "What would that be?"  
  
"A day in the life of a loved one."  
  
A thoughtful look deepened Sirius's handsome features. "So you're telling me that I can watch over Andromeda, Harry, and Remus through this?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
Sirius's face relaxed. "That sounds wonderful." With that declaration, he sank down on a chair.  
  
For the first time that Sirius could remember, he was home at last.   
  
A/E/N:  
  
** By the time Muggles reach the afterlife, they already know about magic. However, the general bunch of them prefer that the wizarding world remain hidden.** 


End file.
